


Unconditional

by kitkattz



Series: Dirk and Jake's Unconventional Guide to the Supernatural [6]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Childhoood, Demonstuck, Gen, THUGTD series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:41:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23780227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkattz/pseuds/kitkattz
Summary: Horuss Zahhak wasnt ever a good hunter, honestly. He stood in his brother's shadow for the most part, and didnt really mind it. Equius was his best friend, his partner in crime, the person he looked up to most-- until he and their father leave Horuss to die in a hive raid gone wrong.SPOILERS. PLEASE READ THE WHOLE SERIES BEFORE THIS ONE.Some people asked for a Zahhak family spinoff, with the whole Zahhak dynamic of Horuss being a demon and Equius being a traditional hunter, so here it is, with a snippit of Leijon as well!THUGTD universe, part 6, the third side story to the ridiculously huge world I've built over the past 5 years.
Relationships: Meulin Leijon/Kurloz Makara, Nepeta Leijon/Equius Zahhak
Series: Dirk and Jake's Unconventional Guide to the Supernatural [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/339520
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	Unconditional

**Author's Note:**

> Horuss was turned at 15, when equius was 18. Jake is significantly younger than the Zahhal brothers, even though Horuss will forever look young due to when he was turned. Darkleer is dead, but Horuss isnt aware of that, because hes been avoiding his family for years. Jake has the run in with Horuss about two years after Horuss is turned, so he is 18 and Jake is 16. Jake is about 25 in the beginning of THUGTD, so when Jake meets Equius, Equius is roughly 29-30 when Jake goes to work for him, and the leijons are younger but not by much, Meulin at 28, Nepeta 26 when Nep and Eq are killed.

Horuss trots after his older brother, a gun at his hip, smiling. Even as his brother dashes through the woods in front of him, sweating from the mad dash they had made away from a newly discovered hive, Horuss wears a weary smile. Equius always sweats, but this time he's really pouring! Frankly, it was incredible! Very exciting! He frigging loves running wild with his older brother!

Speaking of his brother, Equius unclips his walkie talkie from his belt, holding down the little red button. He calls out to their father, breathlessly, "Executor, this is Centaur, copy."

"Copy, Centaur, this is Executor. Where is Caballos?"

"Here!" Horuss calls from a few feet behind Equius, and he hears his father hum an affirmative. "Uh, Caballos copying, Executor!"

"Copy that. What are your coordinates, Centaur?" He asks, the radio crackling.

Equius gives him their coordinates, telling him they are moving West. Hourss smiles wide as their father directs them Northwest, toward his own coordinates so they can all meet up.

When their father comes into view, he heads toward them, dragging both his boys into a hug. "I'm pleased you're both alright. Come, come, let's go before they catch up to us."

He and Equius nod, following their father as he picks through the woods back toward their little farm house. Equius's glasses are cracked and his nose bloodied from holding off the last attack to protect his younger brother. Horuss feels a little bad about it, but he knows by now that his older bother will always throw himself into battle to protect him, no matter how much Horuss says he can protect himself. He's long since given up arguing against him.

When they get home, equius sighs, running a hand through his hair and setting down the bow at his back. Horuss doesn't really understand why he uses a recurve when he could just use a crossbow or a gun or something more effective, but he guesses weird little quirks like that are what makes Equius Equius.

He wants to use a crossbow, and his father promised that when he turned thirteen he would get one for him. He really can't wait for his next birthday, the idea of having a crossbow of his own, to match his father's, is too exciting! He can't wait to learn to use it, and to finally really help out. He's not a great shot with the little pistol he was given, and both his father and brother are more than aware of that.

"So," Darkleer starts, ushering the boys to sit. "Tell me about your scouting mission. I see it was at least somewhat successful."

He motions to Equius' face, and Horuss watches with pride as his brother smiles and straightens in his seat. "Yes. Though, being caught by surprise was a bit unsavory."

He thinks his brother is the strongest person he's ever met, except for maybe their father. He speaks so well, and acts so mature, and Horuss looks up to him. He wants to be as good of a hunter as Equius someday!

He watches his brother and father talk about the scouting mission, planning on how to take down the hive, and his father steps out to call the Leijon family to aide them.

He looks over to his brothet and asks, "Are you okay?"

Equius nods, and offers a crooked smile as he takes his glasses off. "No worse for wear. We will take them out together, the two of us."

Horuss matches him, smile bright, and ditches his own corrective-lensed protective goggles. "Yes!"

He watches Equius fiddle with his glasses, only to drop them. "For Pete's goodfornothing Dixie whistling sake," he mutters, and Horuss laughs at his verbiage. "My fingers are so sweaty."

"Go wash them off, then," Horuss tells him, "or get a towel."

"Yes, yes, in a minute."

"Milk?" Horuss asks, moving to stand, and his brother nods. It's a post-scouting tradition, after all.

"If you wouldn't mind."

He pours them both a glass, returning to hand it over to Equius. "Would you still like me if I was a demon?"

Equius looks at him quizzically. "I don't think I'd be allowed to like you. But yes, I think I would. We _are_ brothers."

Horuss smiles.

∇

Oh, he really hopes his brother was telling the truth, Horuss worries, watching with building fear as Equius is dragged out, fighting, by their father.

_"You cant save him!"_ he hears, only to be pulled backwards, an arm around his neck.

"Kill him. He's a hunter," someone says, and Horuss makes a strangled little sound around the forearm crushing his windpipe.

"He's only a kid, don't be heartless," says the person holding him captive, tone pitying. Both are female voices, and Horuss isnt sure if that scares him more or not.

"Kill him," the first says again. "They'll come back for him otherwise."

"They'll come back anyway, Meenah! I'm not killing a child!"

"Fucking kill him or I will!" The second demoness' voice sounds much closer now, venom clear in her tone, and Horuss flinches despite himself. He's not the brave hunter Equius is, he's useless without his crossbow, which now lays broken to pieces in a deeper room of the hive, where he had fled from when everyone was overwhelmed.

It hits him, very suddenly, that his father left him to die, and it hurts, deep down in his soul. A soul that no doubt would be stolen in a few moments. Tears prick at his eyes at the realization that his brother wouldn't be coming to save him this time-- that he may never see his brother again.

"Look what you've done now! You made him cry!" The arm around his neck retreats, and the demoness turns him to face her. She looks kind, almost motherly, dark blue eyes trained on him concernedly, and a bob of black hair with bangs styled so they swept to the left. She looks like a librarian, almost, with her cat-eye glasses and modest blue dress. She's really not what he expected from a demoness. "You're alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Aranea, you're being an idiot," Says a woman behind her. She's tall, slim, and very obviously displeased. Her long black hair is braided back, short, curly bangs framing a lean face, and Horuss decides he doesn't like this Meenah person, she's definitely more like what he expects a demoness to look like. "We don't need a hunter kid around. What are you even gonna do with him, anyway?"

Aranea looks him over, "I-- I don't know. But I'm not killing him."

"Then take him to Damara. Just do something with him!"

"You have no idea what she would--!"

They both fall quiet when someone else enters the room. A tall man with skull face paint and his lips sewn shut towers over them, seemingly coming out of nowhere, and Horuss can feel the tension when Aranea wraps an arm protectively over his chest. The stranger tips his head to the side, glowing indigo eyes dark and suspicious. He glances over to Aranea, then signs something to her with his hands. She takes a breath, signing back, though she seems a little shaken.

Meenah rolls her eyes as they go back and forth until Aranea signs something aggressively, patting Horuss on the chest as she finishes. The tall demon stares down at him again, getting closer, and Horuss stares back, afraid to break eye contact. It's only when he smiles, nodding, that Aranea releases him, though she gives the stranger a look of warning before handing Horuss off to him.

As Horuss is herded away, back toward the inner hive, Meenah mutters, "Giving him to Kurloz is a bad fuckin' idea, we don't need a hunter turned. We have enough problems."

"Well, the rest of you want to kill him, so I compromised. I won't have the blood of a child on my hands," she replies, glancing back at him as the man-- Kurloz, apparently --pushes him through a doorway and out of sight.

Horuss doesn't like this one bit.

∇

Being turned hurt an awful lot, but the hunger pains hurt worse. He doesn't understand how anyone can just go out and sleep with whoever! Horuss has never slept with _anyone!_ Its nervewracking, though he quickly finds he's not the only stranger among the group who have adopted him, amazed to see Meulin enter their new home one day. He isnt particularly fond of the demons he's been forced to stay with, though he does like Aranea, but hes ecstatic to see the Leijon. She waves excitedly to him, all but lunging his direction, and he catches her in a hug.

However, when he goes to speak to her, her expression goes blank.

"Meulin?" He questions, and she says something to him in sign language that he doesn't quite catch. She motions to her ears when he stares, confused, and Aranea chimes in to help.

"She's deaf, Horuss."

His mouth drops open. "When--?"

"You don't want to hear that story. I promise," Aranea replies, and he frowns.

Meulin raises a finger, asking him to wait, and turns to rummage through Aranea's desk, to the demoness' obvious disapproval. She returns with a pad of paper and a pen, and passes it to him.

He takes the opportunity immediately, though his smile has dropped. Meulin catches his attention again, and points at him, smiling.

_What if I don't want to smile?_ he scribbles on the paper, along with an ugly frowning face.

_YOU SHOULD ANYWAY!!_ she writes back, in all capitals as she always has, a little cat face drawn just before her words. She seems happy, but when Horuss smiles back at her, theres a flicker of something else in her expression for just a moment.

_Why don't you talk anymore?_ he writes, handing the paper back over to her.

_BECAUSE KURLOZ AND EVERYONE ELSE CAN HEAR AND THEY THINK I'M TOO LOUD! MEENAH SAYS IM ANNOYING!_ this time the little cat emoji looks like its crying, and Horuss traces it with a finger. The little "(=ＴェＴ= )" seems to say more than her words do, but he keeps a smile on for her, changing his own sad face on the paper into a little goggled happy face.

She beams at him, and they continue to pass notes, Meulin giggling loudly at his horse puns as she gives him kitty puns in return.

Its only when Kurloz enters the room, Meulin catching sight of him from her peripheral vision, that he has to wonder if her deafness has something to do with him. He had known Meulin most of his childhood, and this is new information. Horuss watches her go to him, pulling him down and leaving a little kiss over his stitches before signing to him in a flurry of hand motions. They're much too fast for him to catch, and he frowns, watching the two speak their silent language. Aranea surprises him when she touches his shoulder, pulling him along and out of the hive.

"You need to learn how to siphon if you refuse to eat like a normal incubus, come along."

He nods, trailing after her as she leads him into town, but he has much to think about.

∇

Horuss is happy to finally have gotten away from the group, after realizing the relationship between Meulin and Kurloz was closer to a possession than a loving pairing. He takes shelter in an old, abandoned building, exhausted from his travels and wondering if, after all these years, his brother would still like him as a demon. He doubts it, but puts on a smile for Meulin despite his sadness. She may not be with him now, but he still does it anyway.

Sometime in the night, the sound of the warehouse door creaking open slowly rouses him from his sleep, and he blinks blearily over to the entrance, only to have fear creep up his throat. 

_Oh no-- oh dear, oh gosh._

It's a small troupe of four hunters, two about the same age as he is, and two much older and obviously more experienced. He immediately takes up a hiding spot, sitting under a broken desk and struggling to hold his breath and keep quiet as he listens to them walk. The first hunter passes him without noticing, as does the second, but the eldest holds a talisman in her hand, and he can't see the the fourth.

She turns, holding it out, and tells the others they're in the right place, sending them off in different rooms to look for him. He doesn't want to die, not like this. Not being hunted like an animal forced out of his burrow.

Horuss doesn't like this one bit, wishing his brother were there to protect him, but knowing he has to fend for himself now, because there is no way Equius would rescue him with what he is now. It doesn't matter how much he wants to be rescued, because this is real life, and he can't expect a miracle. He wished for a miracle when his father left him to die, too, and that was never granted.

The youngest hunter ends up in the room he's in, and Horuss holds his breath when he walks right by the desk, putting his book down on top of it. He flinches, watching the hunter's legs from where he sits, only for his stomach to twist sickly when he recognizes the way he starts to chant an Exorcism. It _hurts,_ it makes him want to curl in on himself and disappear, and he makes a break for it, knocking the hunter off his feet as he dives out from under the desk and heads to the door.

He stops short when he sees another young hunter blocking his exit, the Exorcism wearing on him. He wants to give up. There are too many of them, there's no way he can win--

Just as he thinks the worst, the green eyed hunter boy moves quickly, slamming a window open and then heading toward him, weapons safely hooked to his belt.

"C'mon chap, let's get you out of here!" He says, reaching out to Horuss, who freezes.

"W-what?" He manages to stammer out, not believing for a second that this is real.

"I can't do this," The hunter admits, sighing. "Consarnit, this is practically murder, I was expecting a monster, not a person, so let's get you out before they kill you, alright, friend?"

Horuss nods, and the stranger ushers him out the door, chattering quietly as they go. "I'm going to give you ten seconds to run before I make a ruckus and pretend you escaped me, so I suggest you get moving. I'll direct everyone east. Best of luck to you. What's your name?"

"Horuss," he replies, incredibly releived.

The hunter grins at him, "I'm Jake. Sorry about this whole thing. I'm starting to think I'm the worst hunter to ever exist."

Horuss smiles at Jake, over the moon that he wouldn't die today, and says, "Maybe it's not a bad thing."

The hunter boy-- _Jake_ \--waves at him as he runs into the street, trying to figure out which direction is east, and figuring he has a three-fourths chance of choosing correctly, so he may as well just pick a way to go.

∇

After years, Horrus has finally managed to track down the city his brother lives, wringing his hands as he knocks on doors and asks residents if they know him. A particularly helpful old woman smiles at him and tells him the address of Equius' restaraunt, stating, _you look so similar, you must be family!_

He stops dead outside the place, stomach curling with nerves as he watches Equius inside, something familiar about the waiter who takes orders just beyond the glass.

He can't put his finger on it until green eyes focus on the door, which he stands only a little ways beyond, and it clicks suddenly. _Jake! That's his name!_

He wants to go inside, wants to greet them both, but his trepidation stops him, so instead he watches from he shadows as the last customer leaves, only to realize, with horror, that the hunter boy who saved his life had been lured into a trap. He watches his brother slide on a pair of silver-coated brass knuckles, following Jake into the back.

Nepeta, to his surprise, darts past him then, without noticing him, and into the restaurant, blades strapped to her hands, and Horuss stumbles backwards. _No. No, no, no, that's--_

He hears it when the fight breaks out, the sound of a door slamming shut inside the building, and he moves around to the side, hoping to help if he can get over his fears.

There's a pained gasp from inside, and he expects the worst, only for Jake to burst out the door and past him, bleeding heavily, the same thick, black blood Horuss bleeds. He doesn't know what to do, so he stays put, watching Nepeta help his brother out the door-- only to pause and turn to stare at him, her expression one of absolute shock when she spots him.

He can't breathe, can't move.

"What is it, Nepeta?" Equius questions, and when Horuss shakes his head, she glances between them a moment.

"Nothing. Its nothing."

∇

The next time Horuss sees his brother, he wishes he had gone inside, wishes he had said hello. 

He drops to his knees beside Equius's mutilated corpse, head nearly severed from his neck, laying in a pool of his own blood. His own bow is snapped in half, its string wrapped around his throat. Its horrific, and Nepeta, too, lays close by, a horrible dent in her skull where she was beaten to death on the street. He wishes he had let her say something, he wishes he had told her Meulin was okay.

He wishes he had been braver.

Horuss pulls his brother close, hands gripped tight in his shirt, and just cries.


End file.
